Hidden in the Shadows
by Ponycrazy7597
Summary: Vivian still has a lot to learn about friendship, trust, and about herself. Can she find out the truth about her past? Will she be able to let people in and learn to trust again? Can others learn to trust HER as well? Or will the walls they've all built around themselves prevent that? But who ever said life was EASY? /Previously posted as 'Dreaming Under the Same Moon.'/
1. Chapter : A Sense of Peace

******6/8/13**

**(Author's Note:) I started posting this story once before a year ago, with the title "Dreaming Under the Same Moon", but I had to quit and I took it down because I could stand leaving it up so long until I could continue it. But I did promise to continue, so here it is again!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT and never will own "The Adventures of Tintin" or any of it's colorful cast of characters. Nor am I making any sort of profit from this. If I did I wouldn't be writing FAN fiction and posting on here. I'd be selling it for money and it would be legitimate fiction. =P **

**The only thing I own are my own ideas, original characters, and the storyline.**

**I've admitted I do not own Tintin. So please... nobody sue me over this story! You wouldn't get much anyway. I'm a poor college girl who still lives at home with my family. **

...*..

"_A good friend makes every mile you travel together a little shorter."_

**Chapter One: A Sense of Peace**

"Belgium is so beautiful," I whispered. "I can see forever from here." I tore my eyes from the roaming hills, trees and the village below. I gazed up at the clouds. "And I've never seen such a beautiful sky."

A small movement turned my attention from the scenery to the open backpack slung over my shoulder. I knelt down and sat it down gently on the grass. A moment later, a familiar little black and white face popped out of the opening and blinked at me.

"Well, hello there, Sleepyhead. Did you have a nice nap?"

A sleepy mew was all I got in response. _Too bad cats don't speak human. Though Checkers _does_ seem to understand most of what I say._

I reached down and scratched my little "stowaway" behind his black, velvet ears. Checkers tilted his head and leaned into my hand. I could feel him start purring before I heard it. I grinned. "You sure have quite a motor for such a little kitten." If anything, he purred harder when he heard this, as if to prove that my words were true. I felt a wave of affection for this little white and black kitten I had met up with a few weeks before.

"I can't believe those people you used to belong to. You fell out from beneath their car when they were driving down the road. And they didn't even seem to care about you when I ran them down and told them what happened. How could they not care about you? You have such an adorable little face. I've never seen a cat like you before."

I picked him up and sat him in my arms. I studied him. I loved the way most of his black patches seemed to bunch together on his back like a turtle's shell. His black tail, his white legs and that _face._ It looked like someone had painted him a black mask on the top half of his head except for a white blaze down the middle of his face. And if that wasn't cute enough, they gave him a little black snip on his nose. It all made his big green kitten eyes seem even bigger. He was the cutest kitten I'd ever seen. Not that I'd seen a lot of them, but still.

Checkers scooted onto his side, revealing his tummy and on impulse, I hugged him even closer to me and rubbed my face against his.

"Well, it's their loss." _And it's better for Checkers because there is no way anyone could love him more than I do. It's amazing how he had managed to steal my heart. He's like... a little masked bandit... with paws. It's funny, I never really understood before now why some people seemed so fond of their pets._ I felt sharp little teeth on the tip of my nose.

"Checkers, don't eat my nose. I'm not food." I pulled my head back . "Speaking of food, I'm hungry. Are you hungry, boy? I'll bet you are." I tickled his round tummy, "All you ever do is eat, sleep and play. And get into trouble."

I moved him from my arms and sat him up on my left shoulder, right next to my ear. Checkers loved to ride up there like he was a parrot. He promptly grabbed at one of my curls and playfully attacked it and tried to eat it.

"Checkers! I just said I wasn't food," I scolded. "I guess we better find someplace to eat before you eat all my hair off." I stood up slowly and grabbed my bag, slinging it over my other shoulder. "I don't know why you have to try and eat my hair. It can't possibly taste very good."

I started walking back along the dirt road I had followed up this hill. I had seen a village in the valley below us. "I wonder if there are any cafes or anything in that village? I doubt they would allow cats though. I guess we will stop by a street vendor and get something to eat."

_Checkers might not want to wait that long though._ I looked at the house that was still a ways ahead of us and shook my head. Checkers would have to wait until we got to the village. No way the people in that wealthy looking estate would let us, a lowly traveler backpacking her way through Belgium and her kitten companion, inside. There was no way I'd stop and ask either. I didn't exactly get a friendly vibe from that place. Besides it had thick hedges and a gate blocking off the driveway.

"We'll just have to wait until we reach that village. It's not too far away. We can make a day of it. Get some lunch, explore a little bit and get a room for the night. What do you think of that, buddy?"

I don't know what response I expected from a cat, but I didn't get one other than him still playing with my hair. It didn't matter. Just having him for a companion was enough. I felt myself slip into the blissful sense of peace that was becoming more and more familiar to me. It was amazing how relaxed and content having Checkers around was making me. I hadn't felt peace like this in so long... Too long...

_No, don't go there Vivian. Do NOT go there._ I tried to fight back the bad memories that threatened to surface. _It's a beautiful day. You're in BELGIUM. You have Checkers. Life is good right now. Don't think of the past... Don't think about that stuff... What's done is done. There's no going back..._ I felt something on my cheek and I snapped my eyes open. _Funny, I don't remember closing them._

I glanced at Checkers and realized it was his paw that I had felt on my cheek. I sighed. Once again, Checkers had seemed to sense my bad train of thoughts and distracted me from them again. _That or he noticed that I stopped walking as well. And he's hungry and wants me to get to that village and get him something to eat._ Either way, he distracted me when I needed it.

"Thanks, buddy. I needed that. You're getting very good at distracting me. Especially from unhappy thoughts."

Checkers chose that moment to jump off my shoulder to the ground. He stumbled on the landing, but regained his footing and was off and running down the road, his short legs taking him as fast as they would go in that typical little kitten "bunny-hop" run. He seemed to be headed towards the estate.

"Hey! Checkers! Come back here!" I sprinted after him as fast as I could while still carrying my backpack. I muttered under my breath as I saw him duck under the hedge that ran the house property. "You're getting a little _too_ good at distracting me..." I headed for the hedge, keeping my eyes on that little patch of white sitting in one of the gaps under it.

I reached it, stopped and reached in to grab Checkers. I felt the branches of the hedge prick my arm as I did so and I winced slightly. I scratched my arm a little bit, but I had my cat back. Not that he was paying any attention to me. He was focused towards on something through the hedge. _Maybe he sees or hears something I don't?_

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three loud noises suddenly pierced the air, making me instinctively tighten my grip on Checkers and duck to the ground. I gasped in pain as he dug his claws into me, hard. My heart was pounding in my ears. I'd recognized those sounds immediately.

_Gunshots!_

And they were coming from the other side of that hedge.

**...*...**

**(A/N:) The first three chapters of this story are short, but I'd already written them up a year ago. And I tried to stay as true to them as I could. Even though my poor health prevented me from continuing writing for a long while. And my laptop that had all my documents on it met it's end, I broke one of my USB data cards and then I lost my other one. So I lost most of the work I'd done on this story. I would've lost all my work, but I'd written down the a bunch of notes and ideas in my paper notebooks and I'd printed out the first three chapters and kept them with my notes. Good thing I'm such a clutter bug and rarely throw out any of my papers, otherwise I would've had to start all over again from scratch. **

**Regardless, the story ****_has _****changed a lot in some ways from the way I'd imagined it when I first started writing it. Like the title. But a lot of things have remained the same. They're not etched in stone or anything, but they've stuck around this long, so I have a feeling that they're not going anywhere. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2: A Change of Plans

**6/9/13**

**(A/N:) Fanfiction and I seem to have friction lately. Meaning that we are having issues working together. I can read fanfics all I want, but the second I try to do something on my account like update my profile or my fanfic, it keeps telling me "An error has occurred while processing your request" or "Request Timeout." I know it's not me, my laptop or my internet connection because everything else works fine. **

**Until this is resolved, I won't get chapter 3 re-uploaded or chapter 4 uploaded at all. :( Darn. Sorry about that, folks. Here's hoping for better luck soon!**

**DISCLAIMER: Me? Own 'Tintin'? I wish!**

**I only own Vivian, Checkers, and Whitebrook Stables. I can't even claim the baddies. A friend of mine made them up.**

**And I don't own the qoute.**

**I own Checkers. He is my kitty and including him in this fic will probably just go to his head, but hey. Lots of people loved him the first time around, and I'm not about to not include him this time. ;)**

...*...

"_Start off as you mean to go."  
_

**Chapter Two: A Change of Plans**

_Calm down. There's no reason to assume that they are shooting at someone, let alone at you. They could be hunting game... _But I couldn't convince myself of this. Either my gut or my instincts were telling me something was wrong. _Wait, that was a handgun! Why would they be hunting with a handgun?_

Checkers growled. I looked down at him in surprise. Checkers _never_ growled. I murmured to him and petted him soothingly, but once again, he wasn't paying me any mind. His ears were perked towards the hedge. He growled again. Something had to be seriously wrong to upset him so much. Even noises like gunshots wouldn't shake him like this.

That settled it. Still holding Checkers, I peeked under the hedge, through the gap he had been sitting in. I could see most of the grounds in front. I quickly scanned my eyes over everything, burning it into my mind.

The large grounds looked tended to, well enough I supposed, and the house wasn't huge, but it was definitely nice sized. And old, but nicely built with a eye for design and with good brick. It had large old trees around it and it looked like a small patch of woods circled the right of the house. _It obviously wasn't built by the people that own it now. It'd be a pleasant place to stop by in the days the original owners lived here._ Now, it looked like it had seen better days. The paint around the windows and doors were starting to peel. The old brick stable and shed over to the left of the house were in the same condition. The stables had a faded sign over the doorway that read 'Whitebrook Stables.' The circle driveway had a fountain of running horses in the center of it. _...That's certainly a nice touch, but it'd be even nicer if it actually had running water in it. _

There was a large number of cars parked in the driveway. I narrowed my eyes. _I don't see anything amiss, the place looks cared for, but something just feels... off. I don't know for sure why though. Nothing's unusual, except for all those cars... and all the guys sitting in them. Why would so many people be hanging around here? And where's the person with the gun? Those gunshots came from outside. And close by. I'm sure of it. So where are they? And why didn't these people react to those gunshots?_

_Maybe I'm just being paranoid._ I wasn't though. I _knew_ I wasn't. I don't know how I knew, I just did. Something was telling me so, but my mind wouldn't register it. And Checkers knew something was wrong, but he couldn't tell me what it was. _Come on, Vivian! Think! You used to know these things! You were trained to know these things! _Of course that was before... Back then seemed like a whole other life. Some of those skills I had then were gone now and the ones I still had were muddled.

I heard shouts from behind the house. Something was going on back there. Two more shots rang out and were followed by a rapid succession of more gunshots. Those first two were from the same gun as the first time. Those others came from at least five different guns. ...But what kind of guns? I knew what kind they were but the information I wanted eluded me. I cursed under my breath. Fine time for me to realize I've lost my knowledge of guns...

The men in the cars reacted to these shots. Many of them opened their doors and pulled out their own guns. I couldn't even recognize what kind of guns these men had. I felt like an idiot for not being able to.

Suddenly a figure came running around the left side of the house. He was clutching a hand gun. And running like his life depended on it. And judging by the all the rough looking men chasing him, it probably did. My heart was still pounding and Checkers was still clinging to me, but that didn't matter anymore. I _finally_ felt some of my training kick in. My senses went into overdrive. Time seemed to slow down. I saw everything. Heard everything.

He looked about my age, but with a face like that, it was hard to tell for sure. He had ginger hair that stuck up in the front._ No way it's that way naturally... and that is certainly an outfit to remember. He looks like he's going golfing with those golf pants and blue sweater he's wearing. _His expression was extremely calm for the situation he was in. Now that's surprising...

He skidded to a halt as the men in the driveway pointed their guns at him. At that distance with that many guns, they wouldn't miss. The men behind him slowed to a walk and pointed their guns at him as well. Everyone of them moved in until they surrounded him.

"Drop the gun! Now!" A tall man with a large scar on his cheek gave the order. He was obviously in charge of the group.

"It's out of bullets anyway." The ginger-haired one said and carelessly threw it to the ground. They had both spoken in French, but I understood them perfectly. I half expected the gun to go off when he threw it down, even though he had said it was out of bullets. 'Cuz when you say that, the gun is almost expected to have at least one more bullet in it and to go off. Even I remember _that._

No one moved after that, it seemed that they were waiting for someone, but there was no way the Ginger-Hair was getting away. _Just who do these guys think they are? With bad suits and guns like that, I'd say they were Mafia. But Belgian Mafia? Is there such a thing?_ I frowned. I wished I'd paid more attention in European Countries History classes. And that I could remember more about guns. _Those guns look like they could tear your head off! No wonder Ginger-Hair stopped when he did._

I got the feeling he'd been in situations like this before. He was way too calm for this to be his first time having so many guns pointed at him. His eyes were darting everywhere, like he was doing the same thing I was. Taking in everything. Coming up with a plan.

I don't know what he's come up with, but I got nothin'. Literally. I had myself, a terrified kitten, and a bag of clothes and traveling necessities. I kicked myself for being so utterly unprepared for a situation like this. It went against all of my training. _But you left that life behind you remember? Swore you'd never get involved in something like this ever again... not after what happened the last time you interfered when someone was in danger..._ I shook that off. I had to do something. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing!

I carefully detached Checker's claws from me. I had a few deep scratches, but I'd deal with those later. He was relatively calmed down by now. I placed him on the ground beside me. "Stay here," I whispered to him in French, since he still listened to commands in French better than English, despite my attempts at training him.

As quickly as I could, I took off my backpack and rummaged through it. There _had_ to be something in there I could use... I collected things like I was a pack rat. _Lets see now... what do I have in here that I can use..._ Extra shirts and blouses.. _No._ Extra knee-length skirts. _Yeah, I'll bet those will come in _real _handy, _I thought sarcastically. A Nancy Drew book. _Not unless I plan on hitting someone with it or throwing it at them... _Maps of Belgium. _No._ An alarm clock. _Eh... _A belt. _Now we're getting somewhere._ Hair-ties. _Maybe._ Bobby pins. _Definitely._ A flashlight. _Heavy enough to be useful for both light and as a weapon._ A pair of small binoculars. _Yes._ A beat up screwdriver I'd found along the road somewhere. _You never know, it could come in handy._ A small first aid kit. _Better take that just in case. _

I shoved everything I didn't need back in the bag and sat Checkers in it as well. I spoke to him sternly in french again. "Stay here." It would be safer for him if he didn't come with me. I placed the flap over the opening, but didn't latch it and left small openings on each side so he would still be able to breathe.

Now for saving Ginger-Hair. I wouldn't be able to free him with so many people with guns around, not unless I wanted to kill us both, but maybe if they took him back inside to question him or something... I would be able to sneak in and bust him out.

I glanced back through the hedge to see if anything had changed. Scar-Face was trying to find out how much Ginger-Hair had found out, but he wasn't getting any answers. At least not the kind he was hoping for. He was getting angry and starting to shout. "I want to know what you know!"

"I know a lot of things, like the capitol of Spain, how tall the Eiffel Tower is... You should try going to a library sometime. It's _amazing_ what you can find out if you read a book now and then." _Wow, that's a real smart-mouthed answer for someone being held at gunpoint._ He was holding his own for the time being. That gave me time to get ready. I figured on carrying everything I would need on with me and hide my backpack here under the hedge. I kept listening as I did so.

"SHUT UP! Tell me what you know!" _Wow, that man certainly isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, is he?_ I shoved the screwdriver and flashlight into my skirt pockets and hoped they would stay there.

"Do you want me to shut up or speak? I can't do both at the same time,"Ginger-Hair replied sarcastically. Some of the other men snickered. I found myself smiling. _Well, well, Ginger-Hair sure has guts to keep talking to him like that._ I looped the belt through the hooks on the first aid kit and buckled it around my waist.

"JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!" Oh, man he sounded pissed. I placed the binocular's string around my neck and the binoculars down through the collar of my shirt. It wouldn't do to have them banging around while I moved. I'd better hurry and come up with a back-up plan in case this backfires and they just decide to shoot Ginger-Hair on the spot for his insolence. I guess if I make that alarm clock go off, that would cause a distraction...

"Very well then, speaking it is. But like I said, I know a lot of things though. You'll have to be a _lot_ more specific," Ginger-hair replied. I smirked. _Oh, you are so not helping your situation. I really hope this is all part of a plan you have..._ I stuck the bobby pins in the hair by the sides of my face and the hair-ties around my wrists. That was everything I was taking. I was as ready as I'd ever be. Now to set that clock to go off...

"I want to know what you've found out about the operations! Start talking or we'll shoot you now!" I looked up again and froze. What will happen now? I haven't set the alarm yet!

Ginger-Hair's hands flew to his face and he fiend shock. "Operations?" His voice rose dramatically. "Dear Me! You've been in the hospital for surgery? I had no idea! I do hope you're feeling alright." I grinned. This guy sure knows how to put on a show. I just hoped it didn't end with him getting shot. "If I had known, I would have sent you some flowers and a get well card." He was grinning cheekily by time he finished speaking. His dramatic show of display brought a lot of laughter from the other men.

_Oh, man._ I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing myself. _Oh, man! This guy's almost worth saving just because of that! I've heard of not telling your enemies what they want to know, but dang! I like this guy's spunk. It's probably gonna get him killed... but still... That was pretty darn funny._ I closed my eyes as another bout of laughter threatened to overwhelm me. _I mustn't laugh! They'll hear me!_ I could feel tears of mirth in my eyes as I tried to keep my laughter inside.

My laughter died when I heard a commotion. My eyes flew open and my mouth opened in shock. That was obviously meant as a distraction... and it worked! Ginger-Hair had managed to overpower some the men while they were laughing. It looked like he had shoved them into the other men and now there was complete chaos as they all fell over each other. _Dang, he moves fast when he wants to!_

Ginger-Hair was running towards the gates and the men where scrambling about to regain their footing and to point their guns and shoot at him. They all pulled the triggers too soon and missed him though. Several bullets ripped through the hedge above my head. _Holy horse-feathers!_ I leaped to my feet and sprinted along the hedge towards the gate. That's where he was headed and even though it wasn't much, if he needed help with that gate, I was willing to give it. I was just glad the hedge was thick so they wouldn't see me running and shoot at me as well.

Neither of us made it to the gate.

There was a another roar of a gun.

I would have thought nothing of it, what's one more gun to this gun battle? But I heard Ginger-Hair's gasp of pain and I heard him hit the ground. Panic washed over me like a bucket of cold water. No, not now... He was so close! So close to getting away! I pushed myself even faster. The gate wasn't too far away now. There was still a chance I could get to him before they did. But I was running too fast. My right foot landed wrong and my ankle twisted. I was thrown off balance and felt a wave of pain rush up my leg.

The last thing I saw as I fell was the ground and a large rock looming before my eyes. I felt a searing pain as my head struck it and my vision went blurry. I could feel myself losing consciousness. _I've failed yet again... What will happen to Ginger-Hair now?_ I felt tears prick my eyes and everything went black.

...*...

**(A/N:) Well, Tintin's made his appearance! And he was in trouble, as usual. Lol.**

**And way to go, Viv... you pulled a "Tintin" and lost consciousness. But you fell and knocked _yourself_ out. _*face palms*_**

**Aren't our heroes off to a great start? I'm being sarcastic. Of course they're not. _*rolls eyes at them*_**

**Hopefully things will go better when they actually meet up. **

**But, for those of you who remember, that doesn't happen just yet. Ya gotta wait til Chaper Four. Sorry, folks, but that's how it was written. That and I enjoy suspense. "The suspense is terrible! I hope it'll last." Kudos to those who know where the quote came from. ;) I'll give you a clue though... It's a movie. **


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Hornet's Nest

**6/11/13**

**(A/N:) Well, I caught a break and was able to post this one! You don't want to know how long I argued with my FFN story and document manager tabs. (You know, those tabs you click on the manage your stories and stuff?)  
**

**Chapter 4 will have to wait a little while though. I'm still editing it. That and I'm gonna give my FanFiction tabs a wide berth for a few days, just to make sure they actually _are_ fixed and haven't just found new tricks to pull on me. :P  
**

**DISCLAIMER: _*raises right hand* _"I do not and never will own 'The Adventures of Tintin.' The only things Tintin related that I _do_ own are the copies of Tintin comics and Tintin movies that I spent money to buy. =P And this fanfic. Since I made it up. But I am borrowing Herge's characters to do so."**

**I don't own the qoute. yada, yada.**

**But I DO own Checkers. Well, as much as one can own a cat. They are very independent creatures who think they are the master of all they see. Pfff... yeah, right! Dream on, cat! That's as likely to happen as me owning 'The Adventures of Tintin.'**

...*...

"_If you stick your nose into trouble, your feet are bound to follow."_

**Chapter Three: Into the Hornet's Nest**

_Everything was blurry and out of focus. This had to be a dream. The scene kept changing too fast for this to be real._

_I was on horseback and I was afraid. The horse seemed so huge and the ground was so far away. There was an man behind me and he wrapped his arm around me, holding me close as the horse started moving. I wasn't scared a bit anymore. I loved it up here. "Faster, daddy! I wanna go faster! Please, daddy?" He chuckled and urged the horse a little faster. I squealed and giggled with delight. That voice sounded way to childish to really be me..._

_The scene shifted and suddenly I was in a very sunny room. A woman with kind green eyes and long red hair was holding a baby wrapped in a blanket. There was a man holding me up, but I was too focused on the baby to notice what he looked like. Why was he holding me? I'm too big to be held anymore... "Vivian, come meet your baby brother." The man brought me closer so I could see... and then the scene changed._

_A bouncy little boy with dark red hair and freckles came running up to me. He couldn't be more than four years old. "Vivee! Come play! Mommy says you can come play with me!" Again that way too childish voice replied, "Okay, let's go play with the ponies!" Though my voice sounded a little older this time. As I took his hand and went to run out a door, I noticed that this dream me seemed far too short. Since when am I that short? I'm not all that tall, but I'm not _this_ short. The light brightened as we exited the door and the scene shifted._

_There was a man kneeled in front of me with his hand on his shoulder. He had a gold badge on his shirt. My eyes were too full of tears to see him clearly. Why was I crying? "Come, little one, let's get you home." The scene changed yet again. This was getting annoying..._

_It was bright here. Far too bright. I didn't like these strange grown ups. Where was my family? "I want mommy and daddy! Mommy! Daddy!" I cried out fearfully.  
"You're family is dead, child. We will take care of you." A cold female voice said.  
"I don't want you to take care of me! You're lying! They're NOT dead! They're not! They're not!" The room blurred even more as my eyes teared up. Why were these people lying to me?_

_"Stop this ridiculous nonsense immediately. We do not tolerate such weakness here. You're family. Is. Dead. That's all there is too it. You will stay here with kids your own age and learn all the skills we shall teach to you. In return for this kindness, you will behave in the manner we see fit. Any breaking of the rules and you will be punished." _

_I shook my head in denial. "No! I don't want to stay here! I don't like this place! I want to go home! I want my family! They're not dead! You lie! You lie! You lie..."_

_The scene faded away and I fell into nothingness._

...*...

I jolted awake, but I didn't move an inch, not even opening my eyes. My head and my ankle were throbbing so terribly I could barely think. I focused on them for a moment, trying to block out the pain, but only succeeding partly. The pain was still there, but I could think clearly again. My dreams came flooding back and I had to try and block them out as well. I succeeded at this. I always did when memories snuck up on me. I knew they weren't just dreams, they were my memories. A small voice in the back of my head told me I couldn't push them aside forever and that I should just face them. _Shut up,_ I told it. _I can't focus on them now anyway. I have more important matters to deal with. Ginger-Hair. Oh, I hope he isn't dead._

I listened hard, but I didn't hear any movement near the gate. Which was either good or bad depending on how I looked at it. _Good news is I haven't been discovered yet. Bad news is that Ginger-Hair isn't struggling or running anymore. He couldn't have gotten through the gate because either he or those other guys would have found me. So he must have been captured again while I was out. Who knows what that bullet did to him. For all I know, he could be dead..._ No. I wouldn't believe that until I had proof.

I finally opened my eyes and my vision was bombarded with close ups of grass and the rock I'd hit my head on. _Stupid rock!_ I glared at it for a moment and then pushed myself up so I was sitting.

I felt a terrible burning pain as soon as I moved and I tried not to gasp. My hands stung as I put my weight on them. Great. _Add skinned palms to my list of injuries. My knees and my right elbow feel skinned too. Wow, Vivian! You're doing so great this far! NOT._ I tried to block out these pains, but I couldn't. I was never much good at ignoring irksome, burning, stinging pains like these. _I'm such a wimp. I can ignore a throbbing head and a throbbing ankle, but little bitty scrapes and I'm wincing like a baby. A real tough cookie, aren't I? _

I brushed this off and inspected my other injuries. My scrapes weren't too big, but they bled and stung like crazy. My right hip was sore from where I'd landed on the first aid kit, but thankfully both those things were unharmed. I slipped my shoes and socks off and I stuffed them under the hedge, out of my sight. _Stupid things. And stupid me for trying to run in them._ I could see that my ankle was bound to be bruised by tomorrow. It was a little sore, but didn't seem sprained. I raised my hands to my forehead and could feel a bump and a small cut just above my hairline. There was a little bit of blood on my fingertips when I looked at them, but not very much. None of my injuries were serious. _That's good. The last thing I need right now is a crippling injury to add to everything else._

I crawled on my hands and knees to the edge of the driveway, wincing every time I place my weight on one of them, and tried not to think about all the dirt I was grinding into them. I carefully peeked through the gate. I didn't want to be spotted.

There was a patch of blood on the ground a few feet away. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough. So Ginger-Hair had been hit. But I still didn't know where or even how badly, since I wasn't sure how long I'd been out.

Several men were trying to drag Ginger-Hair back into the house via the front door. He looked about ready to pass out and he couldn't fight back much, but he was still giving them as much trouble as he could. _That can't be good for his wound. And if he's not careful someone's gonna..._ Scar face struck fast and jammed his gun butt down on Ginger-Hair's head. Ginger-Hair dropped like a rock. I grimaced in sympathy. _Oooh... too late. He's gonna have a killer headache when he wakes up. I feel for him already._ I watched helplessly as the dragged him through past the stoop and into the house.

I waited a moment more, and then jumped to my feet and ran back towards where I'd left my bag. _Oh... this is killing my knees. And my ankle. Ow, Ow, Ow._ I slowed as I neared it and stepped towards it as quietly as possible. I wanted to check and make sure Checkers was still in there, without alerting him to my presence. I leaned down and peeked through the hole. Yep, he was still there. _He's sound asleep._ I nodded to myself. _Good. Hopefully he'll stay asleep until I get back._

I straightened up and kept running, trying to ignore the burning pain in my knees. The pain screamed at me every time I moved. _These hedges surround the property and if there is any way for me to get in there without being spotted, it'll be through those woods alongside the house. Hopefully there's a way through this hedge on that side of it._ I reached the end of this hedge and skidded around the corner, now following the hedge that ran along the left of the property. I was nearing the trees. They grew on this side of the hedge too.

I studied the hedge as I ran, looking for a gap or something. But so far, I spotted nothing. _I need to get through this hedge! Wait, is that a creek I hear? Yes, it is! What luck!_ A creek sounded good to my body's various complaints. I sped up even more, zoning in on that stream.

I was even happier when I spotted it. The creek wasn't very wide and didn't flow very fast, but... _It runs under the hedge through that tunnel! This could be my way in!_ The tunnel was made of bricks and the hedge grew up and over it. But the creek looked deep enough for me to be able to swim through the tunnel. My happiness ended there. I'd have to hold my breath and duck under it though. I don't like the idea of sneaking through a strange house on a rescue mission while I'm dripping wet, and I hate the idea of swimming under water even more, but I don't have time to look for another way in.

I stepped closer and reached one of my feet out towards the water. The water was warm and felt good on my toes. _Thank goodness it's summer. I _much_ prefer drowning myself in warm creeks rather than freezing cold ones._

I stepped into the creek before I lost my nerve. The bottom was sand. I could feel it squishing through my toes. I plunged in farther. The middle was deep enough to reach up my waist. The water felt good on my knees and my bare feet. I waded closer to the tunnel. It looked more and more ominous the closer I got to it.

_Alright, Vivian, you can do this. You've taken baths and showers plenty of times before. You've swam in water before._ But I hadn't swam submerged underwater in a long time. I wasn't that strong of a swimmer and I tended to panic when I put my head under water. It stemmed from a time I almost drowned when I was really little. _Come on Vivian, Cowgirl Up. Someone's life depends on you being able to swim through this tunnel!_ I gritted my teeth. _Oh, Ginger-Hair... you had better be worth this..._

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and dove underwater. I felt the water close in around me and I panicked._ OH MY GOD! WHAT WAS I THINKING?_ I felt a flashback start...

_There was a boy my size next to me. A beautiful new toy sailboat floated in the water just out of our reach, but we reached out our small hands and tried to grab ahold of it anyway. No luck. Our arms weren't long enough. I scooted out on my stomach a little farther off the dock and tried again._

"_Almost... Just a little more..." I tried to scoot even farther out and almost fell in._

"_Vivie, this isn't a good idea. Let's get a grown up."_

"_If we tell them, we'll be in big trouble. They told us not to play with your new boat out here. I think I can reach it if you hold on to me."_

"_What if you fall? I can't swim very good and you can't swim at all!"_

"_I won't fall. Don't be such a fuddy-duddy. Now, come on, do you want your boat back or not?"_

_I felt his small hands grab on to my feet and I was able to reach out even farther. My fingers touched the boat, but it still eluded me. I stretched them again out as far as I could._

"_Hurry up, Vivie!"_

_I managed to grasp the boat and pull it back towards me. I smiled greatly. "I got it, I got it!" But my victory was short lived._

"_Vivie! You're slipping! I can't hold you!" He tried to pull me back, but his hands lost their grip and I fell. I screamed as I hit the water._

_Water was covering me... dragging me down... but I fought it and managed to make it to the surface. I coughed and sputtered. Try as I might, I couldn't stay afloat and I started to sink again._

"_MOMMY! MOMMY! It's Vivie! She's in the water! Help, Mommy! Help!"_

_The last thing I saw as I went under was him running for help and the toy boat as it sank beside me. And then, there was water everywhere..._

The water was crushing me! _Come on Viv! No, it's not! Focus!_

I grabbed on to the sides of the tunnel with both hands and pushed off with my feet. I used my hands as guides. A few more strokes and the tunnel was gone.

Naturally, I panicked.

Again.

_Oh, my god! Where'd the tunnel go? Oh, wait, that must mean..._

I swam upwards and my head burst above water. Relief flooded through me. _I'm alive! I've made it!_

I swam towards the bank and crawled out. My clothes felt heavy from all the water and I felt waterlogged like a drowned rat. I probably looked like one too. I wrung out my clothes and hair as best as I could as I tried desperately to catch my breath and control my shaking. That flashback still scared me more than I cared to admit.

As soon as regained a tentative hold of myself, I took off running along the creek, towards the house. I'd worry about my emotional state later. For now, it was time to save Ginger Hair.

_Oh, man... I hope I know what I'm doing... I'm about to walk right into a hornet's nest. I must be out of my mind. _

...*...

**(A/N:) I made some changes and additions to this chapter. The biggest one was adding in that last flashback. **

**I hope all those memories and flashbacks weren't too confusing. But I felt like I _had_ to stick them in there. Vivian absolutely refuses to acknowledge them, so I had them sneak up on her. Heh heh. I'm so devious. ;D **

**That whole dream in the beginning was one of those dreams where you_ know_ you're dreaming, _while_ you're dreaming it. But you're not in control of the dream. If that makes any sense.**

**And that whole skinned knee thing? Those things sting like nobody's business if you do it wrong. If there's a right way to go about skinning knees, I have yet to experience it. Those things are painful! **

**And for all you Checkers fans, don't worry we will have more of him in the coming chapters, just maybe not in the next one so much. I'll have to be careful, I don't want him completely stealing the show like he did in the first chapter! Lol. =P Which may be in vain, since he's pretty hard to overlook. He causes a lot of mayhem for such an adorable kitten. ;)**

**Also, I want to thank those of you who were so patient in waiting for me to finally re-post this story. It means a lot. :D**

**Chapter Four will be up in a few days! Three at the very most. :)****Here, have a bag of skittles in the meantime to tide you over. Or if you don't like skittles, I have some roasted marshmallows. I also roasted some apple slices. They're actually rather good. You should try 'em!**

**Until next time! ^.^**

**-Ponycrazy**


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